Case of the Year 2012

Case of the Year 2012: Winner

In brief: A widowed mother and
her four children were wrongly evicted from their house by their
local council. The family were unable to regain access to their
home until they received the support of a law centre that receives
funding grants from LLST.

Mrs A is a widow with four
children. Her husband died in tragic circumstances on the day that
her youngest child was born. Since her husband's death, Mrs A's
mental health has seriously deteriorated and at one stage she was
forced to undergo hospital treatment whilst her children were cared
for by social services.

Her family are in full-time
education and her youngest child is nine years old with a
disability. The family are reliant upon housing and welfare
benefits, and live in council accommodation. However, due to
problems with the family's welfare payments, their housing benefits
were removed and Mrs A was unable to pay her rent to the local
authority.

One morning, without any warning,
bailiffs arrived at the family home. Mrs A had received no
consultation from the local council, despite the fact that they
were aware that the children had previously been in the care of
social services. The family were evicted from their home with
no belongings other than the clothes that they were wearing. The
family desperately required help and, with no other options
available to them, they went to their law centre.

The law centre acted quickly to
find interim accommodation for the family and made an urgent
application to court on their behalf. The judge held that the local
authority had failed the family in many respects and ordered that
the family should be allowed back into their home immediately. The
rent arrears were also cleared using the housing benefits that had
wrongly been withheld. The vulnerable family were finally able to
resolve their problems with the help of their law centre.

Case of the Year 2012: Runner-Up

In brief: A London-based charity
helped a young, vulnerable Ugandan woman affected by HIV to escape
persecution, physical and sexual abuse, and potentially life
imprisonment in her home country.

As a lesbian growing up in a
country with little tolerance for homosexuality,
Elizabeth*experienced abuse and discrimination from a young age.
She was attacked and tortured at home and at school upon the
discovery of her sexuality. Elizabeth was just sixteen years
old when she was forced to marry a violent man who subjected her to
physical and sexual abuse. Elizabeth gave birth to four children
during her marriage. Elizabeth's sexuality was later discovered by
the wider community and, as a result, she was arrested and detained
by the police. During her detention, she was repeatedly raped and
tortured until her eventual release which was secured by bribing
the authorities.

Elizabeth was invited to attend a
work-related conference in the UK. Terrified of being sent back to
Uganda, she remained in the UK for three years before making
contact with the authorities. By this time, Elizabeth was becoming
increasingly ill and a visit to a drop-in clinic for vulnerable
migrants confirmed that she was HIV positive. Elizabeth suspected
that her husband's infidelities were the cause of her illness.
Elizabeth was referred to a charity that supports those who are
affected by HIV. She attended their pro bono legal clinic and
received advice on making an asylum application.

The volunteers who worked on
Elizabeth's case were aware of the many risks that faced her if she
was to be returned to Uganda. Returning to her local community and
family would have potentially placed her in great danger.
Furthermore, Uganda's proposed laws against homosexuality
threatened life imprisonment and the volunteers were aware of
numerous reports of homosexuals being reported and beaten to death
by their communities. Also, being HIV positive was an additional
cause for concern, as Elizabeth may have been unable to access
medication and she may have been excluded from her community.
Returning Elizabeth to Uganda would have negatively impacted
her health and well-being and would have drastically reduced her
life expectancy. However, as a result of the legal representation
that she received and the tireless efforts made by volunteers on
her behalf, Elizabeth was permitted to remain with the United
Kingdom.